Assistive technologist to university department head
An assistive technologist already meets 49% of what the university department head role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
55.1/ 100
1 How much of what a university department head is expected to do is already part of an assistive technologist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the university department head role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A university department head role treats 11 of its required skills as things an assistive technologist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on lesson plans
- advise on teaching methods
- assessment processes
- cooperate with education professionals
- curriculum objectives
- curriculum standards
What stands in the way is 11 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 20 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A university department head role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an assistive technologist background worth leading with.
- already held provide education management support management skills
- already held provide feedback to teachers communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held promote education programmes communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held education administration business, administration and law
- already held advise on teaching methods communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held curriculum standards education
All 20 carried skills, including the 11 the university department head role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 21 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn manage university department required
- still to learn identify process improvements required
- still to learn assess employees' capability levels required
- still to learn assess students required
- still to learn assist in the organisation of school events required
- still to learn use office systems required
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- still to learn guarantee students' safety required
- still to learn provide information on study programmes required
- optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
- still to learn write work-related reports required
- optional, not held develop professional network optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- optional, not held represent the organisation optional
- still to learn lead inspections required
- optional, not held create a financial report optional
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- still to learn university procedures required
- optional, not held human resource management optional
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a university department head role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 manage university department practise this
- 02 identify process improvements practise this
- 03 university procedures study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 20 skills that carry over
- already held advise on lesson plans skill
- already held advise on teaching methods skill
- already held assessment processes knowledge
- already held cooperate with education professionals skill
- already held curriculum objectives knowledge
- already held curriculum standards knowledge
- already held learning difficulties knowledge
- already held present reports skill
- already held project management knowledge
- already held provide education management support skill
- already held provide feedback to teachers skill
- already held develop organisational policies skill
- already held education administration knowledge
- already held evaluate education programmes skill
- already held funding methods knowledge
- already held identify education needs skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held monitor educational developments skill
- already held promote education programmes skill
- already held work with virtual learning environments skill
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held create a financial report optional
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held develop professional network optional
- optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
- optional, not held human resource management optional
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- optional, not held represent the organisation optional
35 held skills the university department head role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ICT accessibility standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role address problems critically skill
- not needed by the target role application usability knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply for government funding skill
- not needed by the target role assess users' interaction with ICT applications skill
- not needed by the target role assist children with special needs in education settings skill
- not needed by the target role assistive instruments knowledge
- not needed by the target role assistive technology in education knowledge
- not needed by the target role behavioural disorders knowledge
- not needed by the target role communication disorders knowledge
- not needed by the target role coordinate educational programmes skill
- not needed by the target role development delays knowledge
- not needed by the target role disability care knowledge
- not needed by the target role disability types knowledge
- not needed by the target role domotic systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role education law knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with legal requirements skill
- not needed by the target role follow research on special needs education skill
- not needed by the target role government policy knowledge
- not needed by the target role guide learners in using assistive technologies skill
- not needed by the target role human-computer interaction knowledge
- not needed by the target role learning needs analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with educational support staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage government-funded programmes skill
- not needed by the target role manage resources for educational purposes skill
- not needed by the target role measure software usability skill
- not needed by the target role online moderation techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role organise projects to fill education needs skill
- not needed by the target role protect personal data and privacy skill
- not needed by the target role provide assistive technology skill
- not needed by the target role provide specialised instruction for special needs students skill
- not needed by the target role screen reader knowledge
- not needed by the target role special needs education knowledge
- not needed by the target role special needs learning equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role stimulate students' independence skill
3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn university procedures required
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held human resource management optional
Common questions about this move
Can an assistive technologist become a university department head?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An assistive technologist already covers 49% of what a university department head is expected to do: 20 skills carry over, 11 of which the university department head role treats as required.
What skills does an assistive technologist need to become a university department head?
11 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is manage university department.
How hard is the move from assistive technologist to university department head?
Its learning distance is 55.1 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.